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Kevin Durant leads Golden State Warriors to victory over Charlotte Hornets

By John Delong, The Sports Xchange
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (R) is greeted by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (L) after Durant scored a three point jumper against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half of the NBA basketball game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on January 6, 2017. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (R) is greeted by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (L) after Durant scored a three point jumper against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half of the NBA basketball game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on January 6, 2017. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Golden State Warriors snapped a one-game losing streak on Wednesday night by rallying in the fourth quarter for a 113-103 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Say what?

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That means they're at 132 straight regular-season games -- and counting -- over the past three seasons without ever suffering a two-game losing streak, which is the longest such streak in NBA history.

Kevin Durant scored 33 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, and Stephen Curry added 28 in his annual homecoming game as the Warriors outscored the Hornets 38-23 in the final period.

The Warriors had lost at Miami 105-102 on Monday night, and they admitted that they were proud to bounce back and extended their record streak.

"Over the course of a season, you're going to hit some road bumps and you're going to lose some games," Curry said. "So it's all a matter of how you bounce back and show your resiliency. You can't keep us down too long. We always seem to self-correct pretty quickly and find our way to get our rhythm back, and tonight was another example of that."

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The Warriors (39-7) have now won eight of their last nine, 12 of their last 14, and are 19-3 over their last 22 games.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he was pleased with the way his team battled back after trailing 73-63 midway through the third quarter and 80-75 entering the fourth. He was especially pleased that the Warriors endured in an extremely physical game.

"This is great," Kerr said. "Miami was great, too. We didn't win the game but our execution was great at crunch time for the most part. These last two games have been good for us. They were played the way teams are going to play us, physical games, a lot of grabbing and holding, trying to beat us up on the offensive boards. We have to understand that we're a skill team and teams are going to try to take that away from us by being physical, so this has been good for us."

Durant was 5 of 6 from the field and hit all six free throws in the fourth quarter, taking over the game in the stretch where the Warriors took the lead for good. His two free throws with 5:25 left gave the Warriors the lead for good at 95-97, and the Warriors dominated the rest of the way. Curry hit two 3-pointers in the final four minutes to help push the lead up to as many as 12 in the final two minutes.

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"I loved the defense to start the fourth quarter," Kerr said. "I thought that group changed the game. I thought that changed the momentum back in our favor. And then I think KD going to the line the way he did, not settling for jumpers, but attacking, that was key. Any time the game is slipping away from you, it's important to get to the free-throw line. I thought KD's aggression combined with the defensive effort of that group to start the fourth, those were the keys."

The Warriors also got 19 points from Klay Thompson and 13 from Draymond Green. They also got stellar play from Andre Iguodala, who scored just two points but was plus-25 in the plus-minus.

The Hornets (23-23) lost for the seventh time in their last 10 games.

Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points, but was just 9 of 23 from the field on a night when the Hornets shot just 41.3 percent. Nicolas Batum scored 16, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 15, Marvin Williams and Marco Belinelli had 14 each, and Spencer Hawes finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

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Hornets coach Steve Clifford was upset about 15 turnovers that the Warriors converted into 21 points. The Warriors held a 28-4 edge in fast-break points.

"We did a lot of good things," Clifford said. "We were right there to win the game. To beat the elite teams, there's two things. If we're going to have 15 turnovers, it's going to be hard. That's the biggest thing. The second thing is related to turnovers, it's fast-break points. We lost in Houston for the same reason. Tonight I felt like there's many aspects of the game we were terrific. We were good enough to win. But it doesn't matter who you play, you have to do things. Victory favors the team with the least amount of mistakes."

NOTES: The Warriors were without F David West (fractured thumb). ... The Hornets were without C Cody Zeller (quad contusion) and G Jeremy Lamb (metatarsal inflammation). ... The Warriors were playing the final game of a four-game Eastern road trip. ... The Hornets were closing out a five-game home stand. ... With the Warriors off on Tuesday, G Stephen Curry was able to visit his two alma maters, Charlotte Christian High School and Davidson College. ... Curry's 28 points were right at his career average of 27.3 ppg against Charlotte. ... Hornets F Frank Kaminsky will play in the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend, it was announced on Wednesday. ... In a bizarre stretch in the fourth quarter, Hornets G Marco Belinelli hit seven free throws in the span of 54 seconds. ... The teams will meet again in Oakland on Feb. 1. ... The Hornets will hit the road for a game at New York on Friday. ... The Warriors will return home to face the LA Clippers on Saturday.

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